Nessie, our 40HP, 4.3m vessel is a wonderful boat for those looking for licensed boat hire in Lucinda. Nessie, named after Dungeness where our fabulous 4 lane boat ramp is, is an extremely comfortable hire boat that easily seats 4 people. This boat is great for cruising Hinchinbrook Channel, creeks, and along the sugar loading jetty, weather permitting.
Nessie is a comfortable boat to ride in, with space to drop a few lines & crab pots.
Click here for more photos, information & multiday pricing.
Optional MotorGuide with GPS lock subject to availability.
How much is boat hire for Nessie, 40HP 4.3m boat? Seats 4 people
Tow & Go pricing, plus you need to refuel before returning the boat. Boat licence required.
What's great about Nessie? With a 4.3m boat length, she comfortably seats 4 people, and is a very stable boat with a modern 40HP 4 stroke, electric start engine. Also, a 7" HDS Carbon Lowrence touch screen GPS sounder with side and bottom scan, and the option for split screens.
Life jackets and safety gear are all standard. However, let us know if you have littlies under the age of 12 joining you, so we can try and ensure they have a comfortable life jacket to wear whilst in the vessel. (Specifically designed to be worn all day. Required by law & pending availability of junior life jackets.)
Subject to availability, this vessel has the option for including an electric MotorGuide GPS trolling motor. $50 half or full day. $40 per day for multiday.
What do I need to consider? Although Nessie is a very comfortable boat, she has a padded middle bench seat, so she does not have the open floor space of the bigger boats. Perfect if you are just cruising the waterways, if there's only 1 or 2 of you, or a young family on board.
All 4 of Nessie's seats are flat padded boards. If you are looking for a comfortable option for 2 of you, Lucie our 50HP Polycraft has 2x captain's seats at the back.
If 3 or 4 of you plan on fishing or crabbing, you may want to check out the bigger boats.
Do we have to tow, launch and retrieve the hire boat ourselves? All boat hire prices listed above are for tow & go pricing. You need to tow, reverse, launch, tie up, park, get your car, reverse, winch on the boat, and refuel it from the servo. It sounds like a lot, however, it's not really. The boat is plastic, so it's heavier than a tinnie, and you will need a little bit of strength for launching and retrieving. You will require a 50mm tow ball. We use a 7pin flat plug. Please advise if you require an adaptor. We may be able to help. :)
Can you launch and retrieve the hire boat for us? Absolutely. We can do all of the hard stuff so all you have to do is walk on, and walk off the boat from the pontoon. We even refuel the boat, and all of this is just an extra $50 for half or full day, or an extra $45 per day for multiday WOWO service.
Can we use the hire boats at night? Boats are permitted to be used during daylight hours only. This is a requirement of both AMSA and our insurance, which covers you should something go wrong.
Where can we travel to? If the weather is good without a lot of breeze or wind, you can usually traverse the Hinchinbrook Channel and out to the end of the sugar loading jetty.
No or low breeze: Knock your socks off. Head out to the end of the sugar loading jetty, or even some of the lower pylons of the big sugar loading jetty, and/or over to The Bluff on Hinchinbrook Island, down to Haycock Island and Sunday Creek in the Hinchinbrook Channel, across the Hinchinbrook Channel. Be mindful of changing conditions as well as wind vs tide scenarios when travelling big distances. The orange line indicates most likely path due to sandbars at lower tides. If you are towing the boat, you have the choice of using any boat ramp in the HInchinbrook region. You will need to check required tide heights and suitability of some small ramps though.
Breezy to really breezy/windy: (20-25 knots) Stick to the creeks around the Lucinda boat ramp at Dungeness. (Circled in red above) There's a lot of snags, junctions and good fish to target with the protection of the mangroves from the wind.
Information on the map above:
The yellow and red circles can be accessed whether it's breezy, windy, or not.
However, you can only access the yellow areas on the higher tides, due to sand bars. (Herbert and Seymour are sand locked rivers) This means you may have to plan your day around the tides, if you want to traverse and fish in the yellow area of the map.
Quick links
Note: All hirer's/drivers must be at least 18 years old, show relevant identification, and agree to terms & conditions, on the day of hire.